211: Haunted house

Swoosh— Deep within the ancient stockade, a white shadow flashed by. Lin Fan gripped the pitch-black longsword in his hand, his eyes scanning his surroundings in an attempt to find another path.

He turned his body and retreated again, this time staring fixedly at the mansion without blinking.

"Bang!" It was the same familiar sensation, the same familiar sound; he had kicked the threshold again. Without needing to look back, he knew that the mansion must have appeared behind him once more.

"Damn you!" A sliver of anger at being toyed with rose in Lin Fan's heart. He silently took out the child stone, sent a message, and strode into the ancient mansion.

"I'd like to see what kind of tricks you can pull!" Since he could not run, he would face it head-on!

...

Xu Sanyan had already awakened from the Jade Slip. He was currently closing his eyes to contemplate the insights regarding the Heavenly Dao, which had benefited him greatly; it was well worth the effort he had spent to seize it.

The information contained within the Jade Slip was not just about understanding the Heavenly Dao, but also included the connection between the Heavenly Dao and the Human Dao, as well as detailed insights into various Daos.

For instance, the Dao of the Sword and the Dao of Formation; although Xu Sanyan did not cultivate them, stones from other hills can be used to polish jade, so learning a bit more was always beneficial.

Moreover, the content within the Jade Slip was incredibly profound; what he had understood was merely one ten-thousandth, with much more yet to be touched upon.

"Sigh..." Xu Sanyan let out a long sigh and transmitted his voice, "Senior is truly remarkable. This Junior's admiration for you is like the surging river, endless and continuous, and like the flooding of the Yellow River..."

Before he could finish, the old man interrupted, "What don't you understand?"

"Hehe," Xu Sanyan gave a fawning smile, "Could I trouble you to explain the Blood Sea Dao again?"

Just as the old man was about to speak, Xu Sanyan frowned and took out the mother stone. He saw a sentence written on it:

"Disciple Lin Fan, I have stumbled into a ghost mansion. Inside, there are sounds of infants playing, as well as the warbling of opera singers, and white shadows flashing by from time to time. I cannot escape or shake it off, so I must enter to investigate. If Saint encounters this, please be extremely careful."

Xu Sanyan frowned deeply. Where did a ghost mansion come from? So he asked, "Senior, do you know the reason for this?"

The old man was silent for a moment, then sighed in a low voice, "Sigh, an unexpected turn of events..."

"Please explain, Senior."

"Do you know why the Peach Garden Secret Realm is called by this name?" the old man asked instead of answering.

"I do not know."

"Because the Foundation of this Secret Realm resembles a peach tree, and all the Secret Realms are like peaches hanging on the tree, hence the name 'Peach Garden Secret Realm'."

"There are one hundred and thirty-seven peach fruits in total, corresponding to one hundred and thirty-seven Saints. Back then, each of us was responsible for refining a Secret Realm, and then the Grand Elder hung them on the tree to form a whole."

Xu Sanyan suddenly understood. No wonder the Secret Realm was different every time it opened; so that was why.

"In that case, there are one hundred and thirty-seven Secret Realms here?"

The old man shook his head, "No, there are two hundred and thirty-seven Secret Realms in total. The Grand Elder created one hundred Secret Realms all by himself."

"Hiss..." Xu Sanyan gasped. Is this the power of an Immortal?

The old man added, "This Secret Realm was created by my own hands, and there is definitely no ghost mansion. But now one has appeared; there is only one possibility..."

"The Secret Realms have undergone Fusion!"

"Secret Realms can also undergo Fusion?" Xu Sanyan muttered to himself, finding it somewhat difficult to understand.

The old man's tone was filled with emotion, "The two hundred and thirty-seven small Secret Realms, in the final analysis, belong to the same root; they are all fruits borne from one tree. It is not strange for them to undergo Fusion, but... why would a ghost mansion appear?"

Xu Sanyan was puzzled, "Since they have already undergone Fusion, what is so strange about a ghost mansion appearing?"

The old man shook his head, "You do not understand. The original intention for creating this Secret Realm was to train Disciples in the Mystic Path Realm and Foundation Establishment Realm. It belongs to the lowest layer of the peach tree and should not contain ghosts."

Xu Sanyan understood what the old man said and slowly widened his eyes, "You mean... it is very likely that it fused with a Secret Realm for Soul Refining cultivation?"

"Correct." The old man smiled bitterly.

"Hiss..." Xu Sanyan immediately felt a headache. In that case, wouldn't the danger be doubled?

Originally, those in the Mystic Path Realm and Foundation Establishment Realm only needed to deal with corpse demons, but now fierce ghosts have appeared too?

Wait, that Lin Fan...

Xu Sanyan asked tentatively, "One of my Foundation Establishment Disciples has entered the ghost mansion..."

"He will definitely die!" the old man said decisively.

"The Secret Realm Fusion is a slow and long process. You need not worry too much; it is very likely that by the time you leave, the Secret Realms will not have finished fusing."

Upon hearing this, Xu Sanyan nodded. That was fine, though it was a pity for Lin Fan. He had originally thought highly of this Disciple. Perhaps... he might not necessarily die.

...

At this moment, Lin Fan was covering his mouth tightly, curled up in a corner of the main hall, eyes wide open as he watched two children playing a game.

A child wearing a red jacket had their eyes covered with a black cloth, trying to catch another child wearing a green jacket.

The child in the green jacket blinked, smiled at Lin Fan, and put a finger to their lips, gently going "shh" to signal him not to speak.

How could Lin Fan dare to speak? He simply gripped the longsword in his hand a little tighter.

The child in the red jacket began to move, arms outstretched, groping around as if they were really playing a game. But... why did they come straight to him while groping?

Lin Fan tiptoed to change his position. The child in the red jacket paused, slowly changed direction, and groped toward him again.

Lin Fan changed positions again, and the child came again. Moreover, the main hall was filled with tables and chairs on both sides; how could they not bump into anything even once?

He felt that the cloth strip covering their eyes was completely useless.

The child in the green jacket seemed very happy to have someone to play with; their eyes shone with excitement. Two green lights lit up in the darkness, resembling the pupils of a wild beast, staring fixedly at Lin Fan without blinking.

"Yiya~" At this moment, the sound of someone warming up their voice came to his ears again, sharp and ear-piercing, though he did not know where it was coming from.

Lin Fan narrowed his eyes slightly. Since he had already entered, he had no intention of ending things peacefully. He gently bit his finger, drew a pattern on the ground, and then quietly got up and walked out of the main hall.

The child in the green jacket seemed not to see him at all, still staring at the spot where he had just been.

The child in the red clothes walked straight toward the pattern, the smile on their lips growing more excited. They reached out with force, but grabbed nothing. The excited smile suddenly froze. Unwilling to believe it, they reached out again, but still grabbed empty air.

Lin Fan had already walked out of the main hall and was cautiously moving along the corridor.

The mansion was very large; he had been walking for a while and still had not seen the boundary. Moreover, he had not encountered a single ghost along the way; it was as if only those two little ghosts existed in the huge mansion.

Suddenly, a noise came from the corner ahead. Lin Fan held his breath and gathered his Qi, peering slightly around the corner.

"F*ck!" In an instant, his heart almost stopped for a moment. Subconsciously, he thrust his sword out, but it was easily intercepted.

He saw a youth wearing a red robe, with his hair tied into two buns sticking up into the sky, and a large ring hanging from his left ear, also peering around from the corner. The two had just been face-to-face and had nearly kissed.

That person suddenly smiled at him, revealing two rows of white teeth, "Are you here to play too?"